Latest Gear Live Videos

First iPhones get the handy Google Earth, now go one step further. Suppose you are taking a trip by train, bus, or subway, and it is such a long trek that you can’t stay awake. With the maps and GPS, insert the address, city, or station that you are going to and take that power nap. An alarm will go off when you reach your destination. The application also works with iPod touch. You can download it here.

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The T-MobileG1 phone hit store shelves barely a week ago, and in the race to unlock it, the guys at Unlock-TMobileG1.com receive the first place trophy. Seriously, did you think they’d give it to you for free? If that was your plan, you’d better wait for a more charitable group to figure things out – or keep your T-Mobile account in good standing for 90-days, after which they’ll be happy to unlock it for you. If patience isn’t your virtue in this particular instance, fork over the $23 and enjoy your liberated G1 right now.

Check out the above video for a demonstration of the unlocking process.

Google just released a free iPhone/iPod Touch version of its popular Google Earth desktop mapping application. The application allows users to fly around the globe with just the swipe of a finger; tilting the unit adjusts your view, zoom in or out by simply pinching your fingers. The new app also integrates geo-located Wikipedia articles – fly to the pyramids, and read all about them, all while riding the bus to work. Check out the video above for a look at the functionality.

First there was drunk dialing – with a virtual Rolodex of both personal and work-related contact information just a keystroke away, it was only a matter of time before Google Labs came up with an idea to combat the latest device of the cocktail-inspired composer: drunk e-mailing. Mail Goggles, a new Gmail feature offered only on weekends between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. was created with the intoxicated in mind. The program requires users who’ve enabled the function to perform five simple math problems within 60 seconds of clicking the send button, just to verify that you’re in the right state of mind – a designated driver on the so-called information superhighway.

If you are curious about how Google services will work on the Android platform, Eric from Google is here to give us a look. Google products like search, maps, YouTube, Gmail, contacts, calendar, and Google Talk are all included in the Android operating system used by the T-Mobile G1. Basically, you sign in to your Google account once, and all your information syncs to the web. Any changes made on the web sync back to your phone. It’s like a free version of MobileMe - yeah, I said it. Check out the video above for a walkthrough of Google features on the G1.

This morning, T-Mobile and Google held the press conference to announce the first phone to officially launch with the Android OS, the T-Mobile G1. You are going to hear a lot of people comparing this one to the iPhone, so let’s jump in to the feature set. The G1 sports 3G, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, a 3-megapixel camera, is based on a fully open-source OS. The Android OS gives you access to the Android Market (think of that as being similar to the App Store), as well as built-in support for Amazon’s MP3 store, for downloading music on the go. Even cooler, in our opinion, are the things that are real firsts in the mobile phone space - Push Gmail, and Google Maps with Street View.

You can pick up the T-Mobile G1 on October 22, at a nice price of $179.99 with a 2-year agreement. If you can’t wait to spend the cash, you can even pre-order one now at the G1 website. If you are over in the UK, it’s yours in November, while the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Czech Republic will have to wait until sometime in the first quarter of 2009.

Google announced today that it is launching its new beta browser, named Chrome. Available in more than 100 countries supposedly tomorrow, so far it is only for those with Microsoft Windows. (The company says it is still working on the Mac and Linux versions.) Google’s official blog almost apologized for their comic that discussed the joys of their new browser, saying that they tend to “launch early and iterate” and that the mailroom was a bit hasty letting it out. Be that as it may, it took us long enough to get used to Firefox, so we think we will let the hardcores try it first.

The Metropolitan Police in London have created a computer crime-mapping beta website. With it, users can find local cops, report a crime, and learn about crime prevention, victim support, and details of their local baddies. The Google mapping system also allows for detailed information on number, rate, and other crime figures by zeroing in on specific neighborhoods with a postal code search. While this sounds all well and good on

paper

sight, pity those who find out that their own neighborhood is a red zone.

In an agreement with the International Olympic Committee, YouTube will be streaming 3 hours of recorded Olympic coverage per day. Countries like the U.S. and UK will be blocked since they will be receiving it on BBC and NBC. About 77 territories will have access to highlight reels and wrap-ups, but they will not be showing live events. Director of television and marketing for the IOC Timo Lumme claims that “for the first time in Olympic history we will have complete global online coverage.”

Former Google employee Anna Patterson’s search engine is alive. Cuil (pronounced “cool”) was released this week and supposedly can search 120 billion Web pages. She says that it is at least 3 times the size of Google, although that company says that they scan 1 trillion. Whoever is right, we like the idea of a search engine that uses actual content rather than ranking quantity and quality of links, as well as one that will not retain our histories or patterns. We gave it a test drive and think that Cuil is indeed very kewl.